Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an constantly evolving metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and vibrant storefronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The urban landscape can be filled with danger, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and economic precarity. Threats from nefarious characters in the underworld are overshadowed by the anxiety about state surveillance and jail time, represented by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a demanding urban landscape.
